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"Oh," I said, the grocery bill froreat" Fattening, salty, pasty…prettyTaking ave me a quick, soft kiss My stomach flip-flopped most pleasantly

"I missed you," he said with a little sot about this," I stammered

He looked at ed, just sheepishly enough to be adorable "I’etful one"

Score another point for Dr Barnes, ladies and gentlemen!

Dinner with a shelf life of three years wasn’t exactly the romantic meal I’d planned, but nevertheless, Joe Carpenter and I were together

"Hoork going?" I asked as Joe shoveled in heaping spoonfuls of the glow-in-the-dark food

"Great," he answered "Al at the senior center"

"That’s wonderful," I answered, taking a swig of beer

"How’s your work?" he asked

"It’s good, too Pretty busy these days"

"What is it again that you do?"

I blinked How could he not know that? Not to toot irl who becomes a doctor and returns to her place of birth…Everyone knew ht Hey, you want soly at h my befuddleetting dark God had obligingly sent us a beautiful sunset; fuchsia and lavender suffused the entire western half of the sky, and the stars were beginning to wink in the deepening blue of the east I lit the citronella candles that dotted the railing and put one on the table between us

"This is a really nice house," Joe said, gazing skyward

"Watch this" In another ht’s beam flashed across the tops of the trees

"Wicked cool," Joe said He reached over and took e

Was there ever a more perfect moment? Joe and Millie Millie and Joe Mr and Mrs Howard Barnes request the pleasure of your cohter, Millicent Evelyn Barnes, MD, to Joseph Stephen Carpenter the Carpenter…I squelched a giggle

"What’s your house like, Joe?" I asked to distract ress," he answered, turning to look at me "I’ll show you sometime"

"That would be nice"

"Have you watched that ood"

"No, I haven’t watched it yet," I lied "Want to put it on?"

"Sure And can I have some pie? I saw it in the cupboard"

TenThe Bourne Identity for the second time in twenty-four hours But this ti work boots on , tanned ar the blood flow straight to ions His hand brushed the back of ers played in my hair I turned my head away from the TV and looked at Joe He looked back We looked and looked, and this tile that rose up

"Millie Barnes," Joehis perfect face "Why didn’t I ever notice you before?"

And then he was kissing ht, nice and slow My hand went to his neck, and I could feel his pulse thuainst my pal on the couch, Joe on top of me Matt Damon screeched out of Paris Joe slid his hand under ainst his ers through it Then his hand cuppedover the lace of my bra, and my hands clenched into fists

"Is this okay?" Joe whispered

It was hard to think with hi on top of me, his hand where it was, the clean, sunshiny so to bed with you," he whispered, kissing my neck

"Okay," I croaked

SEVENTY-FOUR MINUTES LATER, Joe Carpenter was sleeping next to uess what? We were nad, that’s what! We lay spooned against each other, Joe’s breath tickling my neck, his arm around my ribs He was sound asleep

I, on the other hand…I wanted to jump up and create a Web site that told the world I had just shagged Joe Carpenter Joe Carpenter and I had had sexual relations We had known each other biblically We had done it I had done it, too--I got my man, just as I had drea around it It hadn’t been perfect

Of course, the first ti nad with sonificent as Joe hts had been off and we could barely see Not that I didn’t want to see hih I lorious But as soon as I had flashed the green light, one into the bedrooet out oftoto his I had been just too nervous to really be present Instead,off his shirt Joe’s neck is very smooth Joe is a boxers man"

Well, it was only the first tih the motions, that was to be expected, perhaps And Joe hadn’t seemed to notice

I turned so I could see Joe’s face Awake, he was the el The ht that turned his skin enerous, his cheekbones…everything about him was beautiful His hair fell across his forehead, and I smoothed it away